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English Grammar Notes

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These are some guidelines on English Grammar, reflecting common mistakes made by students. Some of them have been modified or corrected from http://www.words-work.co.uk.

Does Grammar matter?

Many grammatical rules were formed in the nineteenth century (e.g. the split infinitive), so does it matter? Although some were established late, there remain principles of grammar that we should follow for clarity of writing.

Why can I not write as I speak, since people understand me? To express the complexity of a good argument, one will often need to use more complex sentences than in spoken conversation.

Often what might be clear in conversation from the context or tone of voice will not be clear in writing, and therefore in writing we need markers. Clarity of grammar provides those markers, will prevent ambiguity, and will save your reader from having to read your sentence twice!

Correct use of "however"

There are two acceptable ways of using “however”.

As a modifier of a sub-clause:
"It will probably fall off, however you tie the bow." In this case, “however” is the equivalent of "in whatever way".
At the beginning or near the start of a new sentence that contradicts the previous one.
Note it always begins a complete new sentence, and in this sense it is the equivalent of 'But':
"The Romans were famed for their peace. It was, however, achieved through war."

It is ungrammatical to use the construction of no 2 above without the full stop, as in these two examples:

"Slaves were a stable part of Roman society, however we should be cautious in our evaluation of the sources."

“But” could have been used here (either at the start of a new sentence or continuing the sentence).

Slaves could exercise a degree of freedom however they were expected to follow the religion of their masters.

“Although” would have been acceptable here. If the word “however” is used in cases like these, there should be a full stop before it and a comma after it.

Which or that (and a comma)?

This explanation is technical, but using these correctly will improve the clarity of a sentence.

Modifying
Sometimes “which” introduces a modifier (a phrase that provides extra information or describes circumstances). In this case it should have a comma before it. There should also be a comma at the end of the modifier – like mini-brackets.

Examples:
Cars, which are man-made, cannot find their own way home. Cats, on the other hand, are incredibly good at it.
The books in my study, which I have read, have been collected over a number of years.

In these cases, the phrase beginning with “which” provides more information about all the cars or books. You cannot replace “which” with “that”, and you should use a comma.

Restrictive or indicative
On the other hand, “which” can introduce a phrase that is restrictive or indicative of a particular group.

Examples:
The books which I have read have a blue label on the front cover.
Cars which were manufactured before 1999 do not have airbags
In these cases, the phrase beginning with “which” restricts the group of books or cars that you are referring to. Here, you can use “that” instead or even leave out "which" or "which were".

Notes:
“Which” cannot refer to people (you use “who” and “whom” instead)
“That” can refer to people and things (cf. the Authorized Version of the Lord' s Prayer: "forgive them that trespass...").

The apostrophes rule

Step 1
Take the phrase that you think needs an apostrophe somewhere and expand it so that it includes the word "of", like this:
"the boys hat" becomes "the hat of the boy"
"the foxes hole" becomes "the hole of the foxes"
"Chris's problem" becomes "the problem of Chris"

Step 2
If your phrase doesn't make any sense - you probably don't need an apostrophe at all. If it does, put an apostrophe at the VERY END of the whole word, the one at the end of your new phrase:
the hat of the boy'
the hole of the foxes'
the problem of Chris'
Now you have all your apostrophes in the right place.

Step 3
Now put your phrases back together how they used to be (without the "of") leaving the apostrophes in place.
Add "s" after the apostrophe if it sounds right.
The boy's hat (needs an "s" after the apostrophe)
the foxes' hole (doesn't need another "s")
Chris's problem (matter of opinion - do if you like)

What the spellchecker misses

Nouns and verbs
Many words in English do duty as both, but sometimes there is a subtle difference in the spelling.
Advice is a noun (take some advice)
Advise is a verb (I advise you to...)

The following pairs are pronounced differently, so they cause very little trouble. However, the following words follow the same pattern and are frequently confused. I advise you to use "advice" as a reminder :-)
Licence is a noun (a driving licence)
License is a verb (a landlord is licensed to sell booze)
Practice is a noun (a lawyer's practice)
Practise is a verb (to practise the piano for an exam)
Effect is a noun (this weather has an uplifting effect on my mood)
Affect is a verb (The change of teacher has affected her progress)

Here are some other common confusions:
Stationery is paper etc. (e for envelopes)
Stationary is not moving
Complement is adding to, finishing the set (spelt like complete)
Compliment is giving praise, (paying someone a compliment, compliments slip)
A shower with complementary towel rail (matching)
A shower with complimentary towel rail (free of charge)

Can you put a comma before "and"?

Rule 1:
In a list, the normal rule is that you separate the items with commas until you get to the last two. Then you use “and” without a comma.
Examples:
The greengrocer sells apples, pears, tomatoes, cabbages and onions.
The practice deals with wills, litigation and conveyancing.
However
If some items in the list have an “and” of their own, it’s perfectly OK to add a comma to make yourself absolutely clear.

Examples
There are four departments here: Trading, Education, Advice and Information, and Fundraising.
Choose the colour you prefer from bright white, magnolia, peaches and cream, and pale banana.

Rule 2:
If you are joining two short sentences rather than a list of items, it is often a good idea (and definitely grammatically correct) to use a comma before the “and”. It makes it clear that you are joining sentences rather than the individual words either side of the “and”. Example:
Take two short sentences:
He looks like Tom. Jerry takes after her mother.
Join them with “and” but no comma:
He looks like Tom and Jerry takes after her mother.
This could be misread as “He looks like Tom and Jerry”, but if you add a strategically placed comma, there is only one possible way to read the sentence:
He looks like Tom, and Jerry takes after her mother.
So, the answer to the question is:
Yes, if it makes your meaning clear.

Your and you're

Your is what is what belongs to you.
You're: You are going to thank me for this someday.

Now for the really confusing one, the one that is the exception to the rules:

Its versus it's

There's no shortcut; all you can do is memorize the rule.
It's with an apostrophe means it is (or, a little less often and a little less formally, it has); its without an apostrophe means belonging to it.

Owing to and due to

Owing to is adverbial
Example: "The match was postponed owing to the rain."

As 'Owing to' is adverbial, it refers to the verb 'postponed'. If you used the adjectival 'due to' it would have to refer to a noun, in this case the match - but the match was not due to the rain!

Due to is adjectival
Example: "There was an increase in the man's temper due to the poor English."

There is a noun 'increase' so that 'due to' can be properly used (it is adjectival, always referring back to a noun).

Imply and infer

This is a difficult one since the use of 'infer' to mean the same as 'imply' is so common that one could be a pedant for sticking to the original meaning. But since the original meaning of 'infer', i.e. to draw an inference from (in fact the opposite of 'to imply'), is still useful, it is a shame not to use these words correctly.

Example: Person A: 'Are you implying that I am stupid?'
Person B: 'No, you may be inferring that, but all I am saying is that you should be more careful with your grammar next time'

Quote

Note that quotation is the correct noun and quote is the verb. In conversation one might speak of a 'quote' as an abbreviation (more correctly written 'quot.'), but it cannot be used in written English.

Lead and led

The verb 'to lead' has a past tense 'led'. 'Lead' pronounced 'led' is the metal and not the verb.

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